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Thank you for your consistent posting of detailed photos and displaying them in a series…very helpful to building an understanding of budding and the growth of pines. Two questions…what fertilizer are you using in the tea bags? and where do you purchase the strainer-pots?

Jonas, my black pines that I decandled in the manner you suggested are looking exactly the same. That’s great. The technique really works well. However, I noted that you have shortened the old remaining needles. When did you do that and why? Will you ever remove these needles completely or wit until they fall off naturally? If so, when? I assume that you leave the old needles for a continued drawing of energy to the new forming needle buds. Is that correct? Also, when do you begin removing the unwanted newly formed buds? Paul

Hi Paul – good question. I cut needles when I want buds in the area but not foliage. Leaving needles gives the option of needle buds where adventitious buds might not otherwise form. The photos here aren’t a great example of why I’d want to do that, however. Cutback-decandling (http://bonsaitonight.com/2012/06/22/a-cutback-decandling-technique/) is one reason to keep old needles around – I’ll share other examples as I come across them. I don’t know that the timing of the cutting makes much difference – I usually cut needles whenever I’m working on that area of the tree, typically during fall, winter or early spring. They’ll fall off (or I’ll pluck them) this fall/winter.

I typically don’t remove unwanted buds during summer – I’ll say more about this before long.